Anubias Nana (Anubias barteri var. nana) - Potted

Anubias Nana (Anubias barteri var. nana) is the most popular Anubias in the hobby, and for good reason. It is the dwarf form of Anubias Barteri: same thick, leathery, deep-green leaves and same creeping rhizome, but scaled down to a compact clump that tops out around four inches. Low light, no CO2, no special substrate, and tough enough that goldfish and cichlids ignore it. If you want one plant that will still be alive and looking good a year from now with almost no effort, this is it. Browse the rest of our live freshwater plants to round out the tank.

Care Guide

• The one rule: never bury the rhizome. The thick horizontal stem the leaves grow from must stay exposed, or it rots. Glue it to rock or driftwood with super glue gel, tie it with thread, or wedge it into a hardscape gap. Roots trailing into the substrate or water are fine.
• Light: low to moderate. Nana is one of the few plants that genuinely thrives in a dim tank. Strong light mostly grows algae on its slow leaves.
• Water parameters: 72 to 82°F, pH 6.0 to 8.0, soft or hard. It adapts to nearly anything as long as it is stable.
• Fertilizer: a water-column feeder. Occasional dosing with Seachem Flourish keeps new leaves coming. No root tabs needed.
• Growth and propagation: slow, a leaf or two a month. Once the rhizome runs long, cut it into sections with three or four leaves each and every piece grows on as a new plant.
• Algae on leaves: the price of slow growth. Keep the light modest and let nerite snails polish the leaves for you.

Specifications

Placement & Companions

Nana's small size is what makes it so useful. Glue a piece to a stone and you have an instant foreground accent, run several along a piece of driftwood for a planted branch, or tuck one at a cave mouth where nothing else will grow. It is the classic betta plant, completely shrimp safe, and one of the very few plants that survives goldfish, large cichlids, and turtles.

For the same plant in a bright yellow-green, see Anubias Nana Gold, or step up to the full-size Anubias Barteri for a background version of the same leaf. We usually have several other anubias varieties on the shelf, so ask in store.

Recommended Supplies

• Seachem Flourish water-column fertilizer
• Batman Nerite Snail leaf-polishing crew
• Malaysian Driftwood to mount it on

FAQ

Can I plant it in gravel or sand?
Only if the rhizome sits on top of the substrate with just the thin roots buried. Bury the rhizome itself and the plant slowly rots. Attaching to hardscape is safer and looks better.

What is the difference between Nana and regular Anubias Barteri?
Size, and that is about it. Nana is the dwarf variety of the same species, roughly half the height with smaller leaves. Care is identical.

Why is it growing so slowly?
That is Anubias. A leaf or two per month is healthy. The trade-off is a plant that never needs trimming, never melts, and never demands anything.

Will my goldfish or cichlids eat it?
Almost never. The leaves are thick and bitter, which is why Anubias is the go-to plant for tanks that destroy everything else.

My anubias flowered underwater. Is that normal?
Yes, and it is a good sign. Healthy Anubias regularly produce a white, peace-lily-like flower fully submerged.